As much as I respect FD for the ability to make something out of nothing (and as member of the DDF I put my money where my mouth is), I don't agree that they should deserve any more or less respect than any other games developer out there. The reason that people moan, 7/10 is because of a lack of information to the contrary, or a lack of posts that us forum-junkies can point to and say "err, actually, no, FDev have said this....".
The lack of canon, and the lack of high frequency updating (like a simple daily tweet) puts distance between the most vocal of the community and development of the game. For better or for worse, online communities always develop a sentience, of self-policing. Fostering that is a tough balance, but it pays dividends of its own in the long run, especially when you rely on "ambassadors" in the community to go forward and spread the word of the game.
In dealing with this community FDev are doing their jobs, and doubtlessly the maturity of the community is something that makes it easier. But dealing with a community is not rocket science. PR isn't something that was invented just to ensure that Elite Dangerous fans don't go native. That we know that all parts of FDev frequent and read these forums is a blessing and a curse.
I for one would prefer they have the resource available to engage on a much higher frequency with the community on both ad-hoc and regular, reliable and planned communications. Not just on the forum, but via the wiki, Lave Radio, Blogs, streams on an "official" capacity, particularly now that MP is on its way.
FDev will rely massively on word of mouth to spread the popularity of E: D. And it will succeed. The number of players they have now will be a fraction of the number they have in the future. But they should be planning and acting now as if there are 2 million active accounts with their communications. They must continue to foster the best possible relationship with all of us here, but in a very coordinated and professional manner. I don't want to stop the ad-hoc nature of things entirely, it does help us early adopters, but to capitalise fully so that it reaps rewards in a year's time when the game is fully in the release, the communications outputs should feel much less strained than they do at the moment .
TLDNR: FDev already manage to cope with the community as it stands, it gives the impression of being close to breaking point, and yet they still do somethings very well, very well indeed, but they will need to step-up if they really mean to contend in the big-leagues.
